Citation

Gedye A. J. Clin. Psychol. (Hoboken) 1992; 48(6): 766-778.

Affiliation

Provincial Facility for Mentally Handicapped Adults, New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1992, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

1452766

Abstract

Self-injurious movements, common in persons diagnosed with Tourette syndrome, or mental retardation, are typically difficult to eliminate. The author considers the possibility that certain self-injurious movements are involuntary phenomena. An anatomical analysis of high-frequency movements in a patient with severe head slapping is presented by tracing the muscles and nerves involved. The median nerve innervates muscles that bring the hand/arm to the head and also muscles that control this patient's other frequent movements, viz., pill-rolling, thumb-gouging, wrist-flapping, and pinching the neck or cheek. Other patients underwent similar investigation: one who headbangs, one who hits out repetitively, and one with non-injurious stereotypic movements. An anatomical explanation suggests that certain self-injurious, aggressive, and stereotypic movements are involuntary muscle contractions that reflect abnormal innervation along specific nerves.

Language: en